Last week the Cochrane Eagle wrote a story about concerns stemming from the Riviera community regarding a backyard beekeeper. The story generated significant feedback and created a storm on social media. It also brought to light the need for public education on proper urban beekeeping practices, the nature of bees and anaphylactic allergies, as they relate to bee stings.
The Cochrane Eagle has interviewed two field experts: local allergist, Dr. Michael Sorg and Liz Goldie, current director of the United Beekeepers of Alberta Council. Below is the condensed version of interviews with each.
The business of bees, according to Liz Goldie – current director of the United Beekeepers of Alberta Council and past director of five years for the Calgary and District Beekeepers Association (CDBA).
Biggest misconceptions of bees?
Honeybees are vegetarians that rarely sting when foraging. They are often confused with their more aggressive counterparts, wasps – which are carnivores and are attracted to meats being grilled outside. Honeybees do not typically nest in the ground, in composters, under steps or in bird boxes.
Honeybees are often confused with their more aggressive, yellow and black relatives (wasps), although bees have bands of pale yellow, brown or black. They are hairy to enable them to collect pollen while wasps have no hair.
How to limit honeybees from entering your yard?
People can limit the number of bees (and wasps) from entering their yards by limited water sources and other attractants such as flowers and flowering trees. Other points include limiting the number of hives, appropriate hive locations and inspecting your hives.
Bee guidelines versus bee bylaws?
Education is paramount to proper beekeeping and interface with neighbours in urban environments. Guidelines allow for more flexibility than bylaws, for example unique locations concerns. Most municipalities have existing nuisance bylaws, should concerns not be resolved.
The City of Calgary has guidelines in place, available at calgarybeekeepers.com/learning-resources/getting-started.
How many urban beehives are in Calgary?
Last year, the city estimated around 1250 honeybee hives in the City of Calgary. The CDBA has more than 400 paid members and another 300 past members, some who are no longer active beekeepers. The association provides education and resources for urban beekeepers in and around Calgary. Cochranites interested in keeping urban beehives are encouraged to become members.
Biggest urban bee concerns or complaints?
Honeybee swarms may occur in the spring and early summer. The term "swarm" is used incorrectly often and an actual swarm refers to hundreds or thousands of honey bees. Swarms are the natural way that thriving honeybees reproduce their colonies. The CDBA responds to swarm reports to collect the bees and give them new homes.
The top complaint is honeybees visiting water sources located on a neighbours' property. Even though the City of Calgary guidelines require beekeepers to provide an on-site water source, sometimes bees prefer to visit neighbours' water sources. Adding extracts like salt to the water can drive bees away.
Typically there are less than 10 bee complaints in the City of Calgary annually.
The low down on anaphylaxis, according to Dr. Michael Sorg – trained pediatrician, clinical immunologist and allergist of the Cochrane Allergy Clinic
What is anaphylaxis?
Anaphylaxis is a more severe set of allergy symptoms that can be life threatening, such as hives and skin swelling; coughing, wheezing and difficulty catching one's breath; vomiting and diarrhea; irritability and fainting. At least two of these symptoms must be present for the criteria of anaphylaxis to be met.
Children tend to have severe reactions to foods; adults to medications and insect stings.
Epi-pen efficacy?
Epinephrine is the recommended treatment for anaphylaxis to counteract abnormal response of the body. Antihistamines such as Benadryl do not reverse more severe anaphylactic symptoms. It is highly effective if used early in a reaction.
Avoidance, accompanied by carrying an epi-pen is the best prevention. Immunotherapy has been highly successful for yellow jackets, white faced hornets, yellow hornets and wasps. Honey bee immunotherapy does not appear as effective and the reason for this is unknown. For more on immunotherapy, contact the Cochrane Allergy Clinic.
Technically speaking: When anaphylaxis occurs inflammatory messengers are released (ie. histamine) that cause blood vessels to become more leaky and allow fluid from inside the blood vessels to come out into the soft tissue of all tissue. This can happen in the skin, lung, belly and heart. This shift in fluids make the job of each organ harder and results in lower blood pressure for the individual. Epinephrine/adrenaline works on receptors in the organs. The heart will contract stronger, faster and the blood vessels with constrict with a net effect to improve the blood pressure. In the lungs, it results in opening up of the airways so there is less obstruction and easier breathing.
Anaphylactic progression?
Any reaction can be worse than previous reaction, but is not necessarily the guiding rule for stinging insects. For adults who encounter full body hives as their initial reaction, they are only at a two per cent risk of anaphylaxis for future stings and less for children.
Risk factors for a severe reaction include: a severe initial allergic reaction; pre-existing medical condition such as heart problems or asthma; frequent exposure to the allergy; increased physical activity or high heat temperatures. With bee stings, there is also an additional risk of some blood pressure medications and if the patient has an undiagnosed underlying condition where there are too many or overactive mast cells.
Anaphylaxis in adults versus children?
For venom allergies such as bee stings, the risk of a severe reaction is less than 0.8 per cent in children and three per cent in adults. Overall risks can be adjusted down due to low exposure rates. Children may not vocalize symptoms, therefore making them more difficult to assess than adults.
Commonality of bee anaphylaxis?
Prevalence of large local reactions or bumps that can last for days post-sting is 10 per cent and anaphylaxis ranges from 0.5 to three per cent.
Venom anaphylaxis resulted in death is as high as 20 per cent.
Prevalence of food allergy in Canada can be as high as seven per cent, but data is limited and largely based on self-reporting.
Common seasonal allergies may be experienced by 25 per cent of the population.
